Around 50 individuals, including multiple Americans, are slated to face trial on Friday in the Democratic Republic of Congo over what military officials have described as an attempted coup.
The trial, scheduled to commence in the morning, will be held in a military court located within the Ndolo military prison in Kinshasa, the capital city.
According to reports, armed assailants targeted the residence of Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe in the early hours of May 19 before proceeding to the nearby Palais de la Nation, which houses the offices of President Felix Tshisekedi.
Following the incident, the army announced on national television that security forces had successfully thwarted “an attempted coup d’etat.”
The alleged mastermind behind the plot, Christian Malanga, a Congolese national with American citizenship, was reportedly killed by security forces during the operation, as stated by army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge.
Ekenge further disclosed that the attackers comprised individuals of “various nationalities,” with approximately 40 arrests made and four, including Malanga, fatally subdued.
Among the defendants listed for trial, which includes Christian Malanga despite his demise, are his American son Marcel Malanga, along with two other US citizens. Additionally, a Congolese man who holds Belgian citizenship will also stand trial.
The charges brought against the accused encompass a range of offenses, including attack, terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, attempted assassination, criminal association, murder, and financing of terrorism.
Furthermore, a separate investigation is underway to probe allegations of extrajudicial executions purportedly carried out by soldiers in the aftermath of the operation.